Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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478. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the total annual cost of providing child benefit. [27927/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Child Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age.  Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16 and 17, if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves. 

In 2021, Child Benefit was paid to 634,174 customers in respect of 1.2 million children at an

annual cost of €2.02 billion.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy. 

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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479. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of a €1 increase in each of the social insurance schemes, social assistance schemes, other weekly schemes and other schemes payments in tabular form (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27934/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The estimated full year additional cost of increasing each weekly social welfare payment by €1 is shown in the table below. 

*Rounding may effect totals

The costs shown above are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2022.  These costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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480. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of making the fuel allowance available for 32 weeks per annum, 40 weeks per annum and 52 weeks per annum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27935/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April.  The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying households with their energy costs.  The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household.  It is not intended to meet those costs in full.  Only one allowance is paid per household.

Based on existing numbers of recipients and current weekly rates of payment, the estimated full season cost of making fuel allowance available for 32 weeks would amount to approx. €392 million.  A fuel season lasting 40 weeks in total would cost approximately €499 million, while providing the Fuel Allowance for 52 weeks would be approx. €637 million.

The provision of any additional supports such as extending the Fuel Allowance season would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources. 

The Government is committed to protecting vulnerable households from the impact of energy costs through a combination of supports, energy efficiency awareness initiatives and investment in programmes to improve the energy efficiency of the housing stock.

As part of the measures included in the National Energy Security Framework, Government decided that a further additional lump sum payment of €100 would be paid to all households in receipt of the Fuel Allowance in the last week of the Fuel Allowance season – a payment equivalent to over 3 weeks' additional Fuel Allowance.  This payment was provided in mid-May.

This means that low-income households saw an increase of 55% in Fuel Allowance support provided during this fuel allowance season compared to last season.  A recipient household which would have received €735 in fuel season 2020/2021 would see an increase of €404 to €1,139 in fuel allowance payments in fuel season 2021/2022.  When taken in conjunction with the electricity costs emergency benefit payment, paid in April, this household would have received over €600 in additional targeted Government supports over the course of this fuel season.  €600 is the equivalent of over 18 weeks' additional Fuel Allowance.

My Department also provides discretionary exceptional needs payments, where appropriate, to people who face difficulties in meeting fuel bills.  These payments are not ring-fenced or budget limited as they would be if they were drawn from an earmarked fund, but rather are demand led.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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481. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of extending paternity leave by two weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27948/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Paternity Benefit is a payment for employed and self-employed people who are on Paternity Leave from work who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions.  It is paid for two weeks at €250 per week, the same rate as Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Parent’s Benefit. Paternity benefit was paid to 26,852 recipients in 2021 at a cost of approx. €13.7 million.  A budget of €14.17 million is provided for Paternity Benefit in 2022.

Any decision to extend the period of Paternity Leave for employees is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, who has policy and legal responsibility for this area.  An extension of this leave would require careful consideration and consultation with relevant stakeholders. 

The cost of extending Paternity Benefit by 2 weeks which would double the existing duration to 4 weeks is approximately €14.17 million which would result in an annual expenditure on the scheme of approximately €28.3 million.  

These estimates are based on a full year basis and on the number of recipients in 2021.  It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated number of recipients. 

These estimates do not reflect any additional costs which may be incurred by employers who provide substitution or salary top-ups which, in the Civil and Public Sector, would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. 

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy. 

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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482. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of extending parental leave by two weeks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27949/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Any changes to the Parental Leave scheme would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth who has responsibility for that scheme.

Parent's Leave and Benefit are currently available for five weeks to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019 and must be used within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption.  Parent’s Benefit is paid at €250 per week - the same rate as Maternity, Paternity and Adoptive Benefits. 

Provision was made in Budget 2022 to increase the number of weeks of Parent's Leave and Benefit available to eligible parents from five weeks to seven weeks from July 2022.  The estimated overall cost of the increase in Parent's Benefit from five to seven weeks in 2022 is approximately €19 million for a full year.

This estimate is based on the estimated number of recipients in 2022.  It should be noted that costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. 

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.